Almanac: Prominent U.S. Living Donors

Almanac: Prominent U.S. Living Donors

Summary

This section of the Almanac focuses on famous givers in US history. Surprising and compelling stories abound.

Published on Jul 2017

There is no way to say with certainty who America’s top living donors are today. Many philanthropic gifts are made quietly, even anonymously, and are never widely known.

Givers who make lots of moderate-size contributions also tend to be less visible—even though they may give away larger total sums than persons who get noticed for one or two huge donations.

So the 149 names that follow should not be considered the final, definitive universe of America’s top donors. However, the lion’s share of our nation’s most generous and influential living practitioners of philanthropy are listed here.